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A British man in Ho Chi Minh City has spent the past month giving free English lessons to the young daughter of a lottery ticket seller impressed by her determination to learn,

At 8 p.m. each evening, Christopher, 35, takes a motorbike taxi to the Pasteur-Vo Thi Sau intersection in Xuan Hoa Ward, where nine-year-old Thanh Hien waits next to a gas station with her books arranged on a small table.

He then lays out a tarp on the sidewalk, and the two begin a 90-minute English lesson. Christopher writes English words on paper and reads them aloud for Hien to repeat. The girl traces the letters with her finger while practicing spelling.

After finishing the alphabet lesson, Christopher places colored yarn on the table and writes the word “snowman” on a sheet of paper. Hien cuts the yarn into small pieces, rolls them into balls and glues them into the shape of a snowman.

Christopher moved to HCMC last October, works as an English teacher, and lives in Tan Son Hoa Ward. While returning home from work one evening in April, he saw Hien studying on the sidewalk under the light from the nearby gas station while her mother sold lottery tickets nearby.

He says he was moved by the child’s eagerness to learn and her mother’s evident efforts to keep her in school. Christopher returned the next day and offered to teach the girl English free of charge.

He teaches her four evenings a week from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and even buys the notebooks, pens and crayons needed for the lessons. Besides the alphabets and basic vocabulary, he also teaches Hien simple life skills such as tying shoelaces.

The noise from passing vehicles and constant honking at the busy intersection often interrupt the lesson, but Christopher says Hien remains attentive and learns quickly. “The noise does not distract her. I respect her because she is a determined student who never complains.”

Sitting beside her daughter during the lessons, Mai Anh, 44, occasionally adjusts the girl’s posture. Originally from Thanh Oai Commune in Hanoi, she moved to the south 26 years ago and married a man from Quang Binh Province.

The couple have three daughters. The eldest is married, and their second daughter, 16, quit school because of illness. Hien is currently in third grade. Her father works as a motorbike taxi driver, and Mai Anh sells lottery tickets near Le Van Tam Park.

Mai Anh and Thanh Hien on the sidewalk on Pasteur Street in Xuan Hoa Ward, HCMC, on the evening of May 12, 2026. Photo by Read/Ngoc Ngan

From 7:30 p.m. daily, Mai Anh and her two younger daughters spread out a mat in front of the gas station and sell lottery tickets until nearly 11 p.m.

On days when she sells all 300 tickets, she earns VND250,000-300,000 (US$9-11), enough to cover their rent, food and school expenses. “My husband and I always tell ourselves that our children must get an education,” she says.

Christopher maintains a regular teaching schedule and always arrives on time, she says. After the first lesson, he even offered her some money, but she declined.

“Our family is deeply grateful that our child is receiving free lessons. I cannot accept anything more,” she says. She sometimes buys him bottled water, coconut juice or banh giay (sticky rice cake).

An employee at the gas station says Anh and her daughters have sold lottery tickets there for nearly five years.

Passersby waiting at the traffic lights often stay and watch the duo. Some buy lottery tickets to support the family, others give Hien notebooks and school supplies. “When people heard about the free sidewalk classes, many were touched by Christoper’s kindness,” the employee said.

Christopher plans to return to Britain at the end of June. He says he is trying to increase the pace of the lessons so that Hien can learn more before he leaves. “I do not see this as charity but as sharing between friends. I hope the girl will become more confident as she continues on her own path.”